


Ethereal

by citrusyghost



Series: Tender Love [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Gentle Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-28 15:28:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5095775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/citrusyghost/pseuds/citrusyghost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You’re killing me,” Kuro forced laughter without raising his head. Kenma didn’t move. When it was unbearable, Kuro looked up and hesitated when he locked gazes with Kenma.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ethereal

**Author's Note:**

> I'm weak.

The train was quiet. The whirling sound of travel buzzed in Kenma’s ears. The evening sky had tinted the train in streaks of pinks and purples. He stared at the seat opposite from him; the colors were flickering back and forth. They looked like they were dancing. But it was only for a moment for then the train entered a tunnel and the colors were suddenly gone. All that was left was the loud, overbearing echoes that bounced of the tunnel walls.

Kenma felt a weight push against his shoulders and glanced to his left. Dark, tousled hair was all he saw. Kuro had fallen asleep and his body was going limp. Kenma looked back down at his phone, where he had begun a text message to Shouyou. The spot where Kuro leaned on him was warm. Kenma could feel Kuro inches away from him, his head lolling to the side and drooping over his blonde hair. The air around them was still; the train carriage they were in was empty. Kenma stared blankly at his phone and waited for Kuro’s head to drop onto his.

But it didn’t.

Kuro woke with a sharp intake of breath and ran a hand through his hair before settling two fingers on his brow. He stretched lightly and tilted his head towards Kenma to glance at his phone.

“Been a long time since we last saw Karasuno huh,” Kuro mumbled, his voice coming out lower than usual. He shifted himself back upright and leaned his head backwards onto the glass.

Kenma shrugged, his thumb swept the front of his phone back and forth in small motions.

The echoes came to a sudden halt and the colors flooded back into the train.  
  


* * *

 

“Where’s Kenma?” Kuro asked, taking a look around the gym. A few people shrugged in response.

“I’ll go look for him!” Lev announced, a wide grin growing on his face.

“No,” Kuro held a hand up hurriedly, “Go warm up.”

Kuro turned on his heel to head back outside when a flicker of blonde caught his eye.

“I was going out to get you,” he raised his eyebrows at the shorter boy. Kenma made a small noise from the back of his throat. Kuro had a volleyball tucked under his arm and he was dressed in his usual gym attire. He also had the cheeky look that Kenma knew all too well on his face.

“I was finishing off a level,” Kenma dropped his bags to the floor and pulled his hoodie off. His shirt had rode up in the process and when he was out of the material, he locked eyes with Kuro.

“Toss to me when you’re warmed up?” Kuro murmured, sweeping his eyes over the exposed skin, “I want to practice.” He flipped the volleyball towards Kenma, who caught it clumsily with a sigh.

Kenma watched Kuro jog to wear the others were and join them in warming up. He laughed amongst them, his chest always heaved when he did. Kenma bent down to lace his shoes up before joining the rest of them.

The sounds of shoes squeaking against the polished floor and shouts from the players resounded in the gym. It was another practice session. The afternoon always made Kenma a little sleepy. He took a few steps forward to the net before his eyes drifted a fleeting shadow moving past the gym entrance. Neko? Kenma cocked his head to the side in interest.

“Kenma!”

The impact was hard; it knocked the wind out of him. Kenma found himself sitting on the floor, forehead throbbing and face crumpled. He saw Kuro anxiously sprint to where he was. The taller boy knelt down in front of him and reached out a hand to brush aside a few hairs that had fallen down Kenma’s face.

“Are you ok?” Kuro’s brow furrowed, his fingers were inches from Kenma’s forehead, lingering. Kenma held his breath. Then he saw Kuro laugh, retracting his hand as he did.

“Hey! Watch out for stray balls, try not to kill the setter.” Kuro barked at the rest of the gym. Kuro stood up and held out his hand towards Kenma, who took it without looking at Kuro and was pulled to his feet.

“Sit this set out,” Kuro said softly.

“Okay,” Kenma sighed.

They stood where they were for too long a moment. There was something about the silence they shared that Kenma couldn’t figure out. Kuro was staring at him in a strange way. Kenma opened his mouth to say something but Kuro was already stepping away from him with a grin. Kenma pressed his lips together and rubbed his forehead.

* * *

 

“Kuro,”

“Hmm?” Kuro turned around towards Kenma.

“I need to stop by the convenience store to get something.” Kenma said as he zipped up his hoodie. Kuro wiped his sweat with the towel around his neck and nodded agreeably.

The pair said goodbye to the team and headed out of school together like they always did. They made a quick stop at the store so that Kenma could buy some milk and carrots for his mum. Kuro picked up a few chocolate bars and a kiddy apple juice with real pulp. He ignored the look Kenma gave him when he paid for them.

They walked in comfortable silence, Kenma on his phone and Kuro with a chocolate bar in his mouth.

“We might have to make a run for it,” Kuro paused, squinting at the sky, “It’s going to rain.” Kenma nodded but at that exact moment, there was an unceremonious flash of lightning followed by thunder. Kenma wanted to laugh at the stupid face Kuro made but he had no time because Kuro began to run.

“-wait” Kenma gasped. Kuro turned around and laughed, shouting something Kenma couldn’t hear. Kenma ran after him; rain splashing on his face and slowly seeping through his shirt. He panted lightly and trained his eyes on the figure a few paces in front of him. He saw Kuro point at a lone phone booth before turning to run towards it. Kenma ran after him and in a moment they were together in the phone booth laughing.

“You ran off without me,” Kenma accused, wiping some drops of his cheek.

“I knew you’d follow me,” Kuro grinned.

Kenma glanced away to look at the dreadful weather. He sighed and dropped his head down. It fell onto Kuro’s chest with a small thud. The sudden realization that they were inches apart dawned on Kenma and he looked up slowly. Kuro was staring down at him with a look he couldn’t comprehend. They stared at each other, both breathing a little heavily from the mad run to shelter. Kuro’s shirt was soaked through and the material started to stick to his body. A shiver ran down Kenma’s spine. It danced down in a feverish motion,

“Hey,” Kuro’s voice rumbled out of his chest. Kenma snapped his gaze back up, his nose unbearably close to Kuro’s collarbone. He clenched his fist at the strange feeling swelling up in his stomach.

“Are you cold?”

* * *

 

The train was almost empty like it usually was. Kenma was seated at the corner with Kuro on his left, as usual. He clicked aimlessly around his phone before sighing and closing his eyes. His hair was damp and it made him uncomfortable.

Kuro glanced at him; removing the earpiece he had in his left ear to stuff it into Kenma’s. The blonde cringed a little at his cold fingertips but let it stay. Kenma looked down at his phone, then to Kuro’s phone, and then to the little space of nothingness between the both of them. He blinked at the space and surprised himself when he took Kuro’s earpiece out of his left ear and out into his right. It tugged a little at Kuro and forced him to lean closer to Kenma. Kenma wouldn’t look at Kuro after.

* * *

 

Kenma lay in bed that night staring at the ceiling. His covers were at his feet and his phone was next to his face. It was beeping with notifications but Kenma lay very still. He stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours before turning on his side and pulling the covers over himself.

* * *

 

“The boys are going to town to grab some ice cream, maybe watch a movie,” Kuro said as he pulled up a chair to Kenma’s desk. He settled down and put his face in his arms.

“Want to go?” Kuro blinked at Kenma through his fringe. Kenma clicked quietly on his psp and nodded.

“Ok, I’ll let them know. We’re going after last period. There was that new game you wanted to check out, we can go to the store to see if they have it.” Kuro continued, swinging his arm about.

“What are you playing?” He leaned towards Kenma to peer at the psp screen. Kenma watched him crane his neck to see for a couple of seconds before Kuro took the psp from him, almost too careful not to touch him. Kenma let him with a small sigh. Kuro grinned and clicked around with interest, making small ‘ooo’ noises.

“Kuro…” Kenma started.

“Hmm?” Kuro didn’t look at him, too preoccupied with the game.

“Nothing,”

* * *

 

Kenma walked next to Kuro, behind the rest of the team. Lev was bouncing about excitedly and Yaku was looking for directions.

“Where is this place again?” Kuro cocked an eyebrow.

“It’s not far from here,” Yaku frowned at his phone, “I think... Oh! Cross here!”

Yaku made a sharp turn onto the road and the team trotted after him. Kenma moved to follow but there was a sharp honk and a sudden movement swung him back a few paces. Kuro had grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the on-coming car. Kuro cursed under his breath. The hand that Kuro had grabbed hurt a little from the tight grip but Kenma didn’t say anything. It was warm.

“Are you okay? Fucking driver ran a bloody red light,” Kuro clenched his teeth and glared at the direction in which it had driven away.

“I’m fine,” Kenma shook his head. Kuro looked down at him and quickly retracted his hand from Kenma’s. Kenma let his hand drop to his side.

“Sorry,” Kuro mumbled, bringing a hand to his face and looking away, “Let’s catch up with the rest.”

“Yeah,” Kenma nodded, trailing after Kuro, ignoring the slight stinging sensation on his hand.

* * *

 

“Kenma-san!” Inuoka held out the menu to Kenma excitedly, “Look at all the deserts they have!”

Kenma looked over with quiet interest.

“Woooooooohhhh~~~” Yamamoto exclaimed as his eyes scanned the menu.

“Are you guys ready to order?” Yaku asked, catching the eye of a waitress.

“Kenma-san can you move over a little,” Yamamoto cringed in the opposite direction, “This idiot’s legs are too long.” He tackled Lev shortly after. Kenma nodded and scooted to his left and stilled when he touched Kuro’s shoulder with his.

They held gazes for a moment before Kuro broke it to look away.

“Ooohhh the strawberry shortcake looks delicious!” Inuoka nodded enthusiastically, “Or should I get the chocolate mousse, or… or…. Matcha sponge cake?”

“Just get them all,” Yamamoto slapped his back with laugher.

“Kenma?” Yaku called to him from across the table, “What do you want?”

“Apple pie,” Kenma pointed to the menu.

“Kuro?”

“Uhh…” Kuro fumbled with the menu, “Tiramisu.”

Yaku nodded and spoke to the waitress, organizing the mess that was the table.

Kenma loved it when the team was together, even if he never openly said so. He liked going out with them. Sometimes they were a little noisy and he was worried about them being a nuisance but usually, he enjoyed it.

He forked some apple pie into his mouth and listened to Kai and Fukunaga’s conversation about an incident in the chemistry lab. Kenma put his hand by his side to shift on the couch and stopped when his hand touched the side of Kuro’s. He felt Kuro turn to look at him but he wouldn’t look at Kuro. His hand remained touching Kuro’s, if only a little.

From the corner of his eye, Kenma saw Kuro bring his other hand up to his face to look away.

They stayed that way for the rest of the time in the café.

* * *

 

That night Kuro lay in his bed unable to sleep. He tossed to the sides of the bed and back again but nothing seemed to work. Later he found himself in Kenma’s room on the floor.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he sighed after Kenma’s mother had left some snacks in the room.

“House to yourself?” Kenma asked quietly as he watched Kuro put some biscuits in his mouth. He was slightly taller than Kuro with him on the floor and himself on the bed.

“Mm,” Kuro nodded casually, waving a hand, “Dad’s on a business trip and mum tagged along.”

Kuro stilled when Kenma moved forward to brush some crumbs at the base of his mouth. They stared at each other for a moment and then Kuro looked down at his feet with a small laugh.

Kenma moved to the floor slowly and towards Kuro, who stayed very still. Soon, they were inches away from each other and Kuro could feel Kenma’s light breath on his hair.

“You’re killing me,” Kuro forced laughter without raising his head. Kenma didn’t move. When it was unbearable, Kuro looked up and hesitated when he locked gazes with Kenma.

“Kenma…” Kuro warned but the rest of the words were caught in his throat when Kenma put a hand on his shoulder and slowly sat on him. Kuro swallowed.

Kenma moved his face close to Kuro’s until Kuro didn’t dare breathe.

“Wait,” Kuro whispered quickly, “I don’t want you to reg-“  
Kenma’s lips were soft. They pressed lightly against Kuro’s in silent invitation. Kuro let loose a little noise from the back of his throat but he didn’t lean into it. He felt Kenma slowly part his lips and close them on his lower lip.

The motion was swift and Kenma had felt the shift in body language with Kuro. He was on the floor with Kuro bent over him. They locked gazes with each other. The night was quiet and there was little breeze.

“You were avoiding me,” Kenma said quietly. Kuro leaned forward towards him until their noses were almost touching.

“Yeah,” Kuro’s voice was low.

“Why?” Kenma asked, his breath caressing Kuro’s face.

“Because,” Kuro whispered, “I was scared.”

“Why?” Kenma whispered back.

Kuro shook his head as Kenma raised his hand to touch his side. Kuro shivered, it ran down his spine. He stared at Kenma for a split second before leaning down slowly to brush his lips against his. He felt Kenma tilt his head up to meet him. It was soft and sweet, it made Kuro groan. He pulled Kenma closer and teased his lips with his tongue until Kenma relinquished.

The quiet noises they made were lost in the night.

* * *

 

“Kenma-san!!” Inouka called from the classroom door. Kenma’s head looked up slowly from the device in front of him with a questioning look.

“We’re going to get yakisoba bread from the cafeteria! It’s going to be sold out soon, quick!!!” He continued with vigor before disappearing off. Kenma got up with sigh, taking his psp with him.

The cafeteria was a mess, a chaotic battle for bread. Kenma crinkled his nose and searched for the team in the crowd. Someone came up from behind him and brushed his hand.

“I went in and conquered,” Kuro announced proudly, holding up two buns in his hand. Kenma made an amused face, taking one of the breads.

Kuro grinned at him and no one realized how close they stood together in the sea of madness.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my weakness.


End file.
